USA > Iowa > Cerro Gordo County > History of Franklin and Cerro Gordo counties, Iowa and biographies of representative citizens. History of Iowa, embracing accounts of the pre-historic races > Part 75
USA > Iowa > Franklin County > History of Franklin and Cerro Gordo counties, Iowa and biographies of representative citizens. History of Iowa, embracing accounts of the pre-historic races > Part 75
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105
714
HISTORY OF CERRO GORDO COUNTY.
resented by E. A. Howland, Senator, and M. A Leahy, Representative, both of Franklin county.
The sixteenth General Assembly con- vened at Des Moines in January, 1876. Hon. Lemuel Dwelle, of Northwood, Worth county, had been elected to sue- ceed E. A. Howland, as State Senator, and Lorenzo D. Lane took the place of M. A. Leahy as Representative.
The seventeenth General Assembly con- vened at Des Moines in January, 1878. At this time Lemuel Dwelle was still Sen- ator, representing the district of which Cerro Gordo county formed a part. John H. King, a lawyer, residing in Hampton, served this representative district in the House.
The eighteenth General Assembly con- vened at Des Moines in January, 1880. The State Senator from this district at that time was Hon. F. M. Goodykoontz, of Mason City. John H. King, of Hamp- ton, had been re-elected Representative.
The nineteenth General Assembly con- vened in January, 1882, at Des Moines. F. M. Goodykoontz had resigned the office of Senator, and H. G. Parker, of Mason City, had been elected to fill the vacancy, and took his seat at this session. R. S. Benson, of Hampton, served the seventy- eighth district, of which Cerro Gordo conn- ty formed a part in the House.
In 1883 Cerro Gordo county comprised a representative district, and was associ- ated with Franklin, Winnebago and Han- cock counties as a senatorial district.
Senator H. G. Parker, of Mason City, has been so long identified with the best interests of Cerro Gordo county, that his name is inseparable from all her enter-
prises and projects for future well-being. All his career, since he cast his lot in Iowa, has been signally marked by his disinter- ested efforts for her general and local pros- perity. Mr. Parker i's a reformer in the best sense of the term; he judges meas- ures by long observation of their influence on society, and endorses no general prin- ciple which promises no permanent ben- efit to the institutions in which he is most intimately interested, as a man and citizen. Personal aggrandizement is his special aversion; human merit has no claim on his attention, unless characterized by self- abnegation. Mr. Parker was born in Os- wego Co., N. Y., July 20, 1829. His father, Patten Parker, was born Sept. 3, 1793, in Argyle, Washington Co., N. Y., and died Feb. 25, 1846. His mother, Sally (Burr) Parker, was born April 1, 1793, in Granby, Hartford Co., Conn. She died Jan. 23, 1873. Their marriage took place in Litch- field, Herkimer Co, N. Y., Oct. 20, 1816. They had three daughters and one son. The senior Parker spent his life in the pursuit of agriculture. H. G. Parker was carefully reared on his father's farm and received a substantial education. In June, 1855, he turned his face westward, and settled upon Cerro Gordo county as a field likely to afford scope to his energies and abilities. This section was then the Uto- pia of the pioneer; the broad stretch of prairie seemed a special boon to the early settler, who came here with little beside hope and manly strength as the basis of a successful future. In the fall of 1855 Mr. Parker located at Clear Lake. His con- nection with the politics of the county commenced with his advent, he being elected one of the first justices of Clear
L
715
C
HISTORY OF CERRO GORDO COUNTY.
Lake township. During his residence at Clear Lake, he opened and cultivated a farm on the north shore of the lake. In 1859 he was elected county treasurer and recorder, and removed to Mason City to enter upon the duties of his office, Jan. 1, 1860. He served two years, and, Jan. 1, 1862, associated with C. W. Tobin, a com- positor in the office, purchased the Cerro Gordo Republican, a paper established in 1861 In the autumn ensuing, Mr. Tobin enlisted in the Union Army, and Mr. Par- ker was left to the mechanical as well as editorial management of the Republican. The patriotism of printers is a well re- membered fact among publishers, and the dearth of typos sometimes interfered with the regularity of the issue of the Republican but it was a welcome visitor in the ranks of Iowa volunteers, who eagerly sought for news from home. At the beginning of 1863, Silan Noyes, of Clear Lake, an experienced printer and newspaper man, became a partner in the publication of the paper, but he retired at the end of the same year, and Mr. Parker operated alone up to the summer of 1867. . His connection with the paper covered the most eventful pe- riod of the Nation's history, beginning with the outbreak of the rebellion, and terminating with the restoration of the National authority. In 1867 he sold the paper to Silan Noyes and S. A. Sirrine. In 1862 Mr. Parker was appointed deputy clerk of the district courts and clerk of the board of supervisors. In 1863, after the death of HI. B. Gray, clerk of the court, he was elected to fill the vacancy, and held the post until January, 1865, declining re- election on account of his editorial obli- gations. In the fall of 1870 he waselected
one of three supervisors, who were to con- stitute the board instead of one official from each civil township. Mr. Parker drew the short term and acted one year. At the same time he was councilman of Mason City, and a member of the school board of the independent school district. His labors in the latter capacity have their reward in the elegant school building whose erection is due to the efforts of Mr. Parker and his co-adjntors. In 1870 he built the flouring mill on Willow creek, known as the Parker Mills, at a cost of $12,000. He re-appeared in public life in 1881, when he was elected to fill a va- cancy in the State Senate, where his of- ficial record is one of honor to his man- hood and credit to his constituency. He was married in 1861 to Mary A., dangh- ter of Luke Coon of Wisconsin. Mr and Mrs. Parker have five children-Maud G., Laura L., H. Earl, Carl A. and Mary M. Mr. Parker has built his fortune from a small foundation. He ranks fairly with the capitalists of the northwest, and owes his prosperity to judicious management. In company with A. T. Parker, he is en- gaged in adding substantially to the beauty and permanent growth of Mason City, by the erection of an opera house, an investment of about $25,000.
COUNTY JUDGE.
When Cerro Gordo county was organ- ized, in 1855, and for several years there- after, the office of county judge was the most important in the gift of the people, The judge originally performed all the duties now attended to by the board of supervisors, and much that now devolves upon the auditor and circuit clerk.
.
716
HISTORY OF CERRO GORDO COUNTY.
The first county judge of Cerro Gordo connty was John B. Long He was elected upon the organization of the coun- ty, in Angust, 1855, but before the expira tion of his term became involved in per- sonal difficulties and resigned the office.
John B. Long came in 1854 from Rock- ford, Ill., and settled about a mile from where Mason City now stands. He lived upon his farm and started a store in town. Ile was much interested in the . county seat matters and the part he took has in- dissolubly connected his name with the inception and beginning of Mason City. In 1857 he removed to Missouri, and later to Arkansas, where he now lives.
After the resignation of. Long, J. S. Church was appointed to fill the vacancy, and at the election in the fall of 1857 was elected judge. Mr. Church was a lawyer and made a good judge.
In the fall of 1859 George Vermilya was elected county judge to succeed Mr. Church. Ile served until Jan. 1, 1862. During his term of office the board of supervisors were elected, taking most of the work out of the hands of the judge.
George Vermilya, a pioneer of . Cerro Gordo county, settled in Falls township in 1855, where he located land on a soldier's warrant. This property is still in his pos- session. Mr. Vermilya was born in Albany Co., N. Y., Jan. 14, 1822. He is a son of Joseph and Susan (Pinkney) Vermilya, natives of the Empire State. They were the parents of six sons and five danghters, eight of whom are now living. The elder Vermilya was a radical in the full sense of the term; he interested himself zeal- ously in all temperance work, and was foremost in the organization of the first
anti-slavery society in his native town. At the age of twenty-two Mr. Vermilya, of this sketch, came west to Cook Co., Il1. He was married in 1856 to Helen, daughter of Alvah Miller, of Tioga Co., N. Y. Mr. Miller came to Cook county in 1837. Mrs. Vermilya was born in Tioga county, Ang. 29, 1831. In 1855 Mr. Vermilya came to Cerro Gordo county, making the route by stage to West Union, and coming thence on foot to Falls town- ship. Having located his land he re- turned to Illinois, and the following spring moved his family, coming through in a prairie schooner with three ox and two horse teams They lived in their wagon while constructing their cabin, 11x18 feet in size. Four years later the family moved to Mason City. In 1859 Mr. Vermilya was elected judge of Cerro Gordo county. In 1861 he was elected treasurer and re- corder, holding the office for two terms, receiving $300 per year. In 1866 he set- tled where he now resides. Mr. and Mrs. Vermilya have two sons and three daugh- ters-Jessie, Theron, Grace, Lida and Guerdon. Judge Vermilya owns 700 acres of land mostly well advanced in im- provements.
Marcus Tuttle succeeded Judge Ver- milya. He was elected in the fall of 1861, and served until Jan. 1, 1864.
Elisha Randall succeeded Marcus Tuttle, by the election in the fall of 1863.
W. E. Thompson was elected county judge in October, 1865, by an almost unanimous vote. His term began Jan. 1, 1866, and expired Jan. 1, 1868.
Watson E. Thompson came to Mason City in August, 1863, and has since that time been a resident of the county.
Therland Harris M. D.
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY Astor, Lenox and Tiden Foundations.
4
2
HISTORY OF CERRO GORDO COUNTY.
719
Judge Thompson's father was a native of Kentucky, and a sea captain by occupa- tion. The family were originally from Connecticut. His mother was of English descent. W. E. Thompson was born on the ocean, his father being accompanied by his family on his sea voyages. Judge Thompson lost his parents when he was ten or eleven years of age, and was thus early thrown upon his own resources. For sev- eral years he followed the sea and en- gaged in other occupations, going from place to place, as circumstances seemed to direct, in securing a livelihood. He learned the printer's trade in Philadelphia, and at one time set type for Horace Gree- ley, on the New York Tribune. When about twenty-one years of age, he went to Cleveland, Ohio, and engaged in boat- ing. The late President Garfield was a driver on the canal at that time, and Judge Thompson has frequently seen him when thus engaged. He was married in Ohio, to Annie Green, who was born near Cleve- land,»with whom he lived sixteen years, when she died, in Ohio, though four years of their married life were spent in Winne- bago Co., Ill. Previous to his marriage he had learned the cooper's trade, at which he worked for several years. He was at one time a regularly ordained min- ister in the Universalist Church, in which denomination he preached for seven or eight years. In the spring of 1864 he was engaged as foreman in the office of the Cerro Gordo Republican, published by Horace G. Parker, and was connected with that paper for three years. In 1866 he settled on a farm in what is now Lime Creek township, three miles and a half northwest of Mason City. He was the
first justice of the peace of that township, an office he has held most of the time since. By his first marriage he has four children living-Jane C., wife of John D. Harris who resides at Brecksville, Cuyahoga Co., Ohio ; Benjamin F., who was in company A, 103d Ohio Volunteer Infantry ; Annie, wife of William Cath- cart, and Mrs. Nellie E. Rood. The last two live in Pleasant Valley township. By his second marriage, with Mrs. Phæbe Wiggins, he had two children-Elizabeth D. and Asa D., who live in Ohio. Judge Thompson has for the last few years re- sided with his two daughters in Pleasant Valley township.
In October, 1867, George E. Frost was elected county judge, and was the last to fill the office.
COUNTY AUDITOR.
In the winter of 1868-9, by an act of the General Assembly, the office of county judge was abolished, and that of county auditor was created. George E. Frost who was county judge, was made ex-offi- cio county auditor until one was elected.
In the fall of 1869, Charles B. Senior was elected county auditor, and two years later was re-elected.
S. Noyes succeeded Mr. Senior as au- ditor, being elected in 1873. Mr. Noyes came to Cerro Gordo county at an early day, and by his genial and kind disposi- tion made many warm friends. He was for many years engaged in the newspaper business in this county, at times on the Cerro Gordo Republican and again on the Clear Lake Independent. He remained in the county, actively interested in all public affairs until the time of his death, Jan. 18, 1875. Ile was buried with Masonic
62
.
720
HISTORY OF CERRO GORDO COUNTY.
honors in the Clear Lake cemetery, a special train from Mason City conveying his remains to his last resting placc.
In 1875 Henry H. Shepard was elected county auditor. He was re-elected in 1877, 1 879 and 1881.
TREASURER AND RECORDER.
When Cerro Gordo county was organ- ized and for several years thereafter, the duties pertaining to these offices were attended to by one officer.
Henry Van Patter was the first treas- urer and recorder of Cerro Gordo county. He was elected at the organization of the county in August, 1855. Henry Van Pat- ter came to this county when about twen- ty-three years of age, with his father. They settled upon a farm north of where Mason City now stands, which they im- proved. Henry had married a daughter of John B. Long, and shortly after his election moved to Hardin county, where he died a number of years ago. He was a man of integrity and intelligence and made many friends.
Mr. Van Patter did not serve his full term as treasurer and recorder, and Charles W. Tenney was appointed to fill the vacancy. He also resigned and George Brentner served as his successor.
Charles H. Huntley was the next treas- urer and recorder, being elected in the fall of 1857. Mr. Huntley came to Cerro Gordo county from Vinton, with his brother, Dr. E. D. Huntley, when a boy, and settled at Mason City. After his term of office expired, he went into mercantile trade with his brother and J. S. Church, and they erected the stone store building now occupied by W A. Crosby . He married a daughter of Judge Randall's
and remained until the fall of 1862, when he went into the army as adjutant of the 32d Iowa Infantry, and was killed at the battle of Pleasant Hill, La. The wife of Mr. Huntley, is now Mrs. Prof. L. L. Huntley, of Mason City. Charles H. Huntley is remembered as a man of much worth. He left many friends to mourn his loss.
In October, 1859, H. G. Parker was elected treasurer and recorder of Cerro Gordo county, and served for one term. Mr. Parker has been a prominent man in all public matters, and his name necessa- rily occurs frequently in this volume.
In the fall of 1861, George Vermilya was elected treasurer and recorder, and being re-elected two years later served four years.
In the winter of 1863-4, by an act of the General Assembly, the offices of treasurer and recorder was divided, and provision was made for the election of an officer to- each of the separate branches.
COUNTY TREASURER.
After the division, George Vermilya, formerly treasurer and recorder, became county treasurer and filled the office until January, 1866.
In October, 1865, Thomas G. Emsley was elected county treasurer, and two years later was re-elected. Mr. Emsley is now president of the City Bank of Mason City.
T. G. Emsley has been a resident of Cerro Gordo county since 1858. His father, W. W. Emsley, was a native of Yorkshire, England, and died in 1849. His mother, Beatrice H. (Donaldson) Emsley, was born in Vermont and was of Scotch descent. T. G. Emsley was born
721
HISTORY OF CERRO GORDO COUNTY.
in Carroll Co., Ohio, Dec. 23, 1843. He enlisted in company I, 2d Iowa Calvary, in 1864, and was honorably discharged at the close of the war. He returned to Mason City, and,in 1865, was elected treas- urer of Cerro Gordo county and re-elected in 1867. In 1873 he established the bank- ing house with which he is now connected. Mr. Emsley was married in 1865 to Mary Church, daughter of Rev. Jesse Church, of Crawford Co., Penn. Mr. and Mrs. Emsley have two daughters-Mabel and Lillie.
Henry I. Smith was elected to succeed Mr. Emsley as treasurer of Cerro Gordo county, in 1869. He was re-elected in 1871 and served until Jan. 1, 1874.
H. I. Smith, president of the First National Bank, of Mason City, has been a resident of Cerro Gordo county since the spring of 1854. He settled in Falls town- ship on a farm on the Shell Rock river. His father died in England in 1847, and the same year he came to America with his mother, and spent a year in Canada. They went to Kane Co., Ill., in 1848, and at the date above named his mother bought a claim of land, and with the help of her children and brother, improved a farm. The mother is still a resident of Falls township. Their entree to Cerro Gordo county was made in a prairie schooner drawn by an ox team. They spent three weeks on the road, camping and cooking such provisions as they could obtain by the roadside. After their arrival they lived in their wagon until they built a log house, 16x20 feet. The first year they spent in their new cabin home with shakes for shingles and mother earth for flooring. They made their bread the first
winter from corn-meal and buckwheat ground in a three-shilling coffee mill. They killed and smoked a pig, obtaining the remainder of their meat from the forest, varied with fish from the river which they salted and smoked. Here Mr. Smith grew to man's estate and received a good education. In July, 1861, he en- li'sted in company B, 7th Iowa Volunteers. His regiment was first rendezvoused at Burlington, Iowa, and in August was sent to Benton Barracks, St. Louis. His first smell of powder was at Belmont, Mo., Nov. 7, 1861, where he was shot in the breast,his collar-bone being broken. He still retains the bullet imbedded in the shoul- der-blade. He was in Mound City Hospi- tal until the day following the battle of Shiloh. At that engagement his only brother, Peter Smith, was wounded by a shell and died on a steamer while en route to Keokuk Hospital. He was buried at Quiney, Ill. Mr. Smith was under fire at Corinth, first and second battles, at Iuka, Dallas, Big Shanty, Kennesaw Mountain, at the siege of Atlanta (July 22 and 28), was with Sherman on his march to the sea, and in countless other engagements of more or less importance, and finally passed in the Grand Review at Washing- ton, D. C., where he received a bouquet from the hand of Mrs. Stanton, wife of the Secretary of War. In 1864 he was pro- moted to second lieutenant at Pulaska, Tenn., and when in action at Atlanta, reached the rank of first lieutenant. While at Washington he was promoted to the captaincy of his company. While on the march to the sea he was placed on the staff of Brigadier-General E. W. Rice. He was mustered out of service at Daven-
.
722
HISTORY OF CERRO GORDO COUNTY.
port, in 1865, and came back to Cerro Gordo county and engaged in farming for a short time. In 1869 he came to Mason' City to enter upon the duties of county treasurer, to which he had been elected, which office he held four years. He was married, in 1868, to Miss D. E. Bogardus. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have had five children, four sons and one daughter-William J., Lou D., Henry Carl, Robert P. and War- ren B. Mr. Smith was born in Notting- ham, England, May 4, 1840. He is a member of the Masonic order, a republi- can in politics, and has held many im- portant positions in the party.
In 1873 James Rule was elected county treasurer, and being re-elected in 1875 and 1877 served six years. He is now vice-president of the Mason City Bank. He came to Cerro Gordo county in 1864, and worked on a farm summers and taught school winters. He became a resi- dent of Mason City in 1868, commenced mason work, and in 1870 was appointed deputy treasurer of the county. He was elected to the office of treasurer in 1873 and re-elected in 1875 and 1877. In 1880 he formed his present business relations with Emsley and Denison in the City Bank. Mr. Rule was born in Greene Lake Co., Wis., June 11, 1846. His parents, James and Mary (Cameron) Rule, were natives of Scotland, and came to the United States in 1844, locating at Fox Lake, Wis. The father engaged in agri- culture. Mr. Rule acquired his education there, and when about sixteen years of age enlisted and went to St. Louis, where he was rejected on account of his youth. Mr. Rule was determined not to return home, and the officials finally assigned
him to a position in the ordnance depart- ment, second division army of the frontier, under Gen. Herron, where he served about six months, and, on receiving his discharge, returned to Wisconsin. In 1871 he was married to Jennie Gale. They have two sons-Arthur L. and Vernie H. Mr. Rule belongs to the Masonic Order, Chapter and Commandery.
W. C. Tompkins succeeded Mr. Rule as treasurer in the fall of 1879. Two years later he was unanimously re-elected and served until Jan. 1, 1884.
W. C. Tompkins, treasurer of Cerro Gordo county, was born in Lockport, N. Y., Jan. 31, 1837. His parents, Enoch and Deborah (Westbrouk) Tompkins, went to Canada West in the year 1828. His father died there in 1846. When Mr. Tompkins was nine years old.he went to Freeport, Ill., with a cousin, expecting that his father's family would soon follow, but death took away the head of the house- hold, and Mr. Tompkins, after managing the best he could for about a year, went to Ogle Co., Ill., where he lived seven years with Edwin Francis. He came to Iowa in 1854 and located in Etna township, Hardin county. Two years after he en- gaged in farming at Iowa Falls, and in the fall of the same year sent for his mother, three brothers and one sister. He set ont for Pike's Peak in 1859, and went as far as Leavenworth, Kan., going on to his destination the following season. He re- turned to Iowa in 1861 and settled at Clear Lake. In the spring of 1862 he en- listed in company C, 12th United States Infantry. He was soon sent to Fort Ham- ilton and passed fourteen months there and at Fort LaFayette, New York Har-
6
723
HISTORY OF CERRO GORDO COUNTY.
bor. He was engaged in the second riot in New York and joined his regiment in the fall of 1863, and was sent to Culpep- per. He experienced some of the heaviest service in the war, including the battles Rappahannock, Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, Cold Harbor, Pittsburg and Weldon. At the last named place he was taken prisoner and was sent to Libby prison, and six weeks later to Salisbury, N. C. He was exchanged in February following and discharged at Fort Hamil- ten, N. Y., April 19, 1865. He came back to Cerro Gordo county and engaged in farming. He was married April 27, 1868, to Jean, daughter of Thomas Duncan, of Clear Lake. Only one of their two chil- dren is now living-Earl. Mr. Tompkins is a member of the Masonic fraternity.
COUNTY RECORDER.
Upon the division of the offices of treasurer and recorder, in 1863-4, provision was made for the election of a county re- corder in the fall of 1864. Accordingly, in November, 1864, Elisha Randall was elected county recorder. His duties began Jan. 1, 1865, and his term expired with Jan. 1, 1867.
Charles M. Adams was elected to snc- ceed Judge Randall as county recorder in the fall of 1866. Mr. Adams served his term in a most efficient manner. He is now short hand reporter of the twelfth judicial district.
Henry Keerl was the next county re- corder. He was elected in November, 1868, without opposition, and served until January, 1871.
Lieut. Henry Keerl was born in Charles- town, Va., Dec. 14, 1836. He is a son of Dr. William and Ellen (Douglass) Keerl.
His father died when he was a boy, and in 1859 he came to Cerro Gordo county to take charge of a mill owned by an uncle residing in Benton county. Lieut. Keerl enlisted in August, 1862, in company B, 32d regiment, Iowa Volunteers. He had three brothers in the Confederate army. His command was attached to the Red River expedition under Gen. Smith, and at Pleasant Hill his canteen was shattered by a minnie ball. The battered article is preserved in grateful remembrance. At Memphis he was commissioned 1st lieu- tenant, and was engaged in action at Nashville and Fort Blakely. He returned to Mason City at the close of the war, and has since been variously occupied. He is an ardent republican, and in the fall of 1867 was elected county recorder ; has served in the city council many years. He is a member of the order of Masonry, and belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic. He was married in 1863 to Lurena, daughter of Judge Randall, of Mason City. They have three children- William I., Letty E. and Henry.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.